NW-HD5 : black, silver or not at all?

I am/was just about to purchase a Sony NW-HD5.

After reading all of the reports about cracks appearing on the buttons, I'm now not too sure I want to blow almost £200 if I'm going to have to send it back after a couple of weeks.

So, whatdoyareckon....?

Option 1 : Buy a silver one (preferred colour) and hope it doesn't crack.

Option 2 : Buy a black one in the belief that they have less chance of developing cracks in the buttons.

Option 3 : Wait and see if Sony acknowledges and fixes the problem.

Option 4 : Buy something else insetead.

I'd like to hear you opinions.

[MR2Harvey]

I'm in the same boat.

Option 1..... Expect it to crack.

Option 2..... It'll crack but you will not notice it as much.

Option 3..... I'm contemplating that one.

Option 4..... I'm contemplating that one too!

So how long to wait or what else to buy?

[chicksdignick]

i work at a sony centre and can tell you we have sold just under fifty and we have had 1 back with a small crack in the navigation button. The cracks are very small and you really have to look for them to notice, however i do appreciate that a: it shouldnt crack at all and b: we have only had one back so far. The cracks on the one we had back were not actually cracks in the buttons, the buttons are clear and the icons are set beneath them on a silver 'sticker', this is what cracked, but the actual buttons are fine. As i say ive only seen one back so far, so for all i know they might be all spontaneously exploding and my workload is gonn go thru the roof! Good units though, stick some sennheiser phones on them and they sound great.

p.s if you see a hd3 going cheap as an alternative, save your money. Trust me.

I have the 30gig HD5 and they have different buttons to the rest of the players. I would be surprised to see a 30gb player with cracked buttons.

I’m not sure if every player is developing these cracks. If they were we would be seeing a mass recall by now.

But it’s your money.

Personally if you’re having doubts then go for the 30 gig.

Alternatively I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 40gb or more new player from Sony soon. Maybe with better buttons.

[JB5]

Originally Posted by chicksdignick

p.s if you see a hd3 going cheap as an alternative, save your money. Trust me.

Why is the HD3 not a good "cheap" alternative?

[LFC_SL]

The HD3 is an excellent player. HD5 is only better that it offers playlists, 10 hrs more batt life, removable battery, smaller and probably some more 'small' things.

On the other hand no cracking buttons with the HD3.....Sony really should have kept the button style of the HD1/3 or adopt the jog dial of the Hi-MDs

[simmo_02]

I live in australia, and the hd5 has just been released. I was quick to buy the silver hd5 even with the inherent problems, simply for the fact of the battery life and that i like the design. I have not owned any of the previous hd's, as this is my first mp3 player purchase.
My point is that I have the problem of the cracking buttons. I called up sony and they said that the problem 'has been recognised overseas, but in australia' and advised for me to simply take the player in for repairs. I did that, and the salesperson (at the store) simply gave me a new hd5, the problems occurred again, so I will taking it back soon.
Not knowing much of the sony market here in australia. I had always assumed that problems such as this would be fixed before shipping (as we always seem to get things far too late in any case). But that is not so and I am surprised about all of this.
All in all I am very pleased with my new hd5, even if I have to get it fixed...

Thanks for all the advice folks.

I opted for the 30Gb HD5. Bought it at lunchtime today.
Now to spend all of my spare time filling it up with tunes.

Fingers crossed it doesn't crack, but I go it from a local shop (rather than amazon) so if it does crack I can take it back directly to them.